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Over the Christmas holiday a group of children I work with decided to sing two songs in our service on Christmas eve. They ended up doing a wonderful job because we began practicing a few weeks before the service.

Usually, we practiced at church with the microphone on so they would get used to it, But one day the church was being power washed, so we had to practice at my house.

Some of the kids were nervous about this

not because they were scared of my house….

but because they were scared of my dog.

My dog “Vincy” (short for Vincentian) takes his job as guard-dog very seriously. People have learned to call me at my gate. Because if they come into the gate without my letting them in, the dog will rush them! The kids were understandably nervous about facing a dog who had ferociously barked at them before. 

A few moments after letting them in the gate Vincy ran up, and some of them were expecting a dog bite.

But he didn’t come to bite them.

He ran up because he wanted a head pet.

You see the truth is the guard dog who ferociously barks at any large truck or animal that comes by absolutely LOVES head pets.

Of course, when the children realized this, they all wanted to give Vincy a pet on the head. And he enjoyed the attention.

So how did the dog who struck fear into children turn into a loving canine?

It’s very simple….

I let them in.

Whenever I invite someone over to my house, I’ll always come into the gate first, and then they walk in behind me. Thats my way of telling Vincy “This person is allowed to come in.” There are one or two people who can open the gate and come in on their own since he knows them well, but everyone else has to wait for me to open the gate.

There is an important principle here.

We have countless acquaintances

but we only have a few friends.

A friend is someone who we can trust as part of our “inner circle” so to speak. Someone who will help us in time of need, defend us when necessary, and has our best interest in mind. The most important thing about a friend is they are some who has earned our respect. They are someone who we allow into our personal life.

This doesn’t mean we disrespect everyone else. On the contrary, we show respect and dignity to everyone!

But we only let those in who have earned that right.

in a sense Vincy is like boundaries in relationships that show respect to acquaintances, but only lets in true friends. These stipulations aren’t set up to selfishly use others, but to protect both them and ourselves.

In life it is important that we have boundaries that keep the selfish individuals out

but its also important to have true friends we can invite in.